Even Bratz Dolls Have A Passion…..For Fashion September 15, 2009

I have a confession. I am extremely jealous of people who know what they want to do with their life. I truly think that those individuals who haven’t changed their career paths since middle school are the lucky ones. Having such unwavering conviction in oneself is commendable, and certainly a lot less stressful than the 20-something quarter life crisis the rest of us face. And I’m not just talking about those people who have been on the course to MD’s or law degrees since seventh grade. I’m also jealous of those weirdos I keep seeing on Oprah or CNN who committed to their life’s passion and made a career out of it. The fact that they have identified their passion, in something, whether it be beekeeping or cupcakes, frustrates me out of raging jealousy.

It seems like I keep hearing about people who have transformed their careers and totally upgraded their quality of life by doing what they love. Then this article from Zen Habits popped up in my reader….

Five things you can do to move toward getting paid to do what you love:

Find your passion. This is all about your great love, and what makes you come alive. To get started here, ask: “What am I insanely interested in?” “What could I talk about for hours?” and “What would I do for free?”

Find your strengths. What we’re looking for are things you’re naturally good at, and the unique strengths you’ve had since birth. This is about contributing your gifts to the world. To get started, interview your friends, family, or peers and ask them what three things you’re naturally talented at.

Find your value. Finding the intersection between what you’re good at and what people are willing to pay you for is what it all boils down to. If you can’t find a way to get paid to do what you love, the other stuff doesn’t really matter. So it’s worth spending some time figuring this out. To get started, think about the benefits you’ll give others by contributing your value. Think about whether or not there is a desperate pain or a deep passion involved in what you’re offering.

Make the commitment. I think, more than any other reason, people fail to succeed is because they fail to commit. Thinking “I don’t know” or “maybe someday” will not get you to the point of doing what you’re passionate about for a living. It takes an uncompromising commitment to make this change for yourself. Instead of thinking “I don’t know,” think “I’ll figure it out.” Remember, paths are made by walking.

Be willing to let go. As much as you might want to make this change for yourself, it can be hard to let go of the old patterns of thinking and behaving. A lot of us have ideas that “work shouldn’t be fun” or “you should just suck it up.” Breaking down those beliefs can be difficult, but moving toward a new direction is most definitely worth it.

What will you give up? You might not think that you have time to take on a new endeavor, and you’re right. You won’t have time until you make the time. There are a lot of things we place in our schedules that we think we must do. But in reality, our world wouldn’t collapse if we chose something else. Make a list of all the activities and time sinks that you’ll give up in order to make time for your new journey

Will you say Yes to yourself? You may want to become a writer, dentist, life coach, painter, or public speaker. If you know that this is what you’re meant to do, then give yourself permission to call yourself that… even if you’re not established yet. And even if you don’t make a full time income from it. Own your passion, completely and unreservedly.

The article is spot on. I do believe people with a passion for what they’re doing will never “work” a day in their life. They may have hours of frustration or unsavory red tape to cut through, but they won’t spend their days looking at the clock tick. I’d love to set these steps into motion, to find out what I really wanted to do and just do it, but I can’t seem to get started.

My problem is I can’t get past step one. I don’t know what my “passion” is.

So I did what anyone would do.

I jumped to step two and asked Facebook what three things I’m naturally talented at.

My answers were: writing, baking, shooting, diving, gymnastics, wedding planning, and The Boy taming.

So, any good ideas as to how I can meld all these Natural Talents into something career worthy?

Preferably something outside the realm of a circus act, though I’m sure a Fiance taming, wedding dress clad acrobatic combination shooting/ high dive act would totally drive in the crowds…..

Especially if I promised them all home made oreos.